Soul Calibur: Darkness On Light's Embrace, A Hope Fic
by Sonata-Time-Flare-Nocturne-Aoi
Summary: Complete! One day, she meets a man, known as Siegfried, but marked as Nightmare instead, and she instantly felt safe with him. But will this last the way that she wished it would? Contains OC's. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1: Discovery

**Story**: Soul Calibur: Darkness On Light's Embrace, A Hope Fic  
**Author**: Nocturne  
**Written**: July 15th, 2019  
**Genre**: Family/Tragedy  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Project Soul or its characters bound by fate.

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**Chapter 1: Discovery**

"Man...this sucks..." Charlotte's best friend, Lotte, said, sitting on the table of her little fish stand.

Charlotte nodded and sighed. It was boring standing outside, waiting, while people walking left and right as they gossiped about whatever went on. Her father left her in charge of his fish stand while he was away on business trip, though it's been weeks since his return. She was told that he was killed along with her mother.

"At least it's a nice day today right?" Lotte exclaimed, holding a basket in his hand. "It's good to get some fresh air after what happened lately."

Charlotte looked away. She knew what happened that day, though she wishes to forget it. A terrifying creature known as Nightmare destroyed half of her village, killing her parents in cold blood. A man appeared, destroying him and things were peaceful again. She moved from her village to a new one, hoping to forget about it, but because of that, it was tough for her to sleep well at night due to her messy work schedule and nightmares. Being a fortune teller is a tough job for a young girl like her. Charlotte yawned and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Are we going to get any customers?" she asked.

Lotte sat down next to her and shrugged. She slightly sighed and pushed back some of her hair behind her ear. "I knew we wasn't going to get lucky today."

He nodded again, nibbling on something. Bread, maybe? Charlotte lightly hit her head on the little table and sighed again. '_I_ _can't believe it...no customers..._' she thought as she lift up her head and rested it in her hand, watching the people walk by. She started to close her eyes again, but felt something, or someone, push her.

"Charlotte, I think that guy is coming over." Lotte said. He then took a deep breath and smiled a little. "Hello, sir. Would you like some fish?"

"Not now, but later, I shall buy some. How much are they?" the young man asked.

Charlotte sat up a little and yawned. "I'd say about fifteen gold. Good deal?"

He nodded and smiled a little. "Then I shall bring you fifteen gold. Can you direct me to the nearest inn?"

Charlotte and Lotte glanced at each other, then Charlotte sighed and stood up from her stool. "Sure thing. When you walk down this path, there is a library there. Once you reach there, take a left and it should be on your right."

The young man bowed. "Thank you, ma'am."

"No problem. I hope my wording made sense," she said, blushing a little in embarrassment.

The man walked off after giving another small smile. Charlotte watched as he went down the path she pointed to. He looked so familiar. She shook it off and sat back down on the stool. She looked up and saw a lean boy looking over at the same path with a shocked expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Etienne?" Lotte asked, lightly punching his arm. "You look like you seen a ghost."

He glanced at the two. "More like a demon...do you know who that is?"

Lotte was confused but smiled. "No, but I know that he was our next customer."

"That man... that's Nightmare. The same creature that killed your parents."

They were taken back at his words. That man...was Nightmare? It couldn't be true. Nightmare wasn't a handsome man like him. Lotte stood up from the stand. "That's not Nightmare. He looked much nicer than that creature."

"Don't you know that he can change his appearance? Did he have a scar on his face?"

"Um...yes. Was he a solider or something?"

Etienne shook his head. "He got that scar by fighting some villager. He killed him in cold blood."

"But he was kind to us. If it really was Nightmare, why didn't he kill us when he had the chance?"

Just then, there were whispers surrounding Charlotte as the two boys argue about the man that came by. Rumors about Nightmare rose up quick and ignoring it was completely out of the question because everyone knew about it. Charlotte then stood up from the stool, grabbing her bag from the ground, and placed a 'closed' sign on the table. She didn't want to hear the commotion. "I'm going home," she said to the boys, then turned to leave to her home, the inn that the man was looking for. She lived there with her grandmother (she had her own room that nobody goes in). She hoped that news of Nightmare didn't reach the inn yet.

But she knew that it would be closer before she can realize it.

Charlotte walked into the inn, only to find it empty. She looked around for a while, then dropped her bag in front of the door. She closed the door behind her and walked to the back of the inn to see her grandmother standing there. She seemed to be looking for something.

"Hello, Grandma," Charlotte said, walking into the room.

Her grandmother looked at her and smiled, which made Charlotte smile more. She loved to see her grandma smile. It made her happy. "Charlotte, dear. Welcome home," she said.

"Has anyone came by today?"

Her grandma nodded. "Yes. A young handsome man came by. He had light blue armor on."

Charlotte looked away for a while. That was the same man that came by the fish stand earlier. So, he did make it safely. She hugged her grandma and walked out. "I'm heading to my room. Please, be careful down here."

"Oh, don't worry about me, dear. Sleep tight, tonight."

She nodded and walked out of the room, quickly grabbing the bag near the door and started up the stairs to her room. She loved this place, though it does get a little uncomfortable to have guests in the next room when she least expects it. Though this time, she had a pretty good feeling. Her grandmother has run this place for so long that she called it home. She made herself comfortable in that room and almost never left it unless necessary, especially work hours. Charlotte has helped her run the place ever since she moved to the village and she basically lives there. She finally reached her room, then glanced over at the room next her. Sure enough, the man from earlier was there. He was sitting on the bed, taking off the armor he wore, leaving him in a dark green shirt and pants with brown boots. He then glanced over at her and she quickly looked away and went into her room, gently shutting the door behind her. She then walked to her bed, her face as red as a tomato. She looked around her room and laid down on her bed. She smiled a little, slightly giggling to herself, then drifted off to sleep after calming down.

_"Eleanor?"_

_Charlotte can hear her mother, Reis, calling out to her, but she couldn't see a thing. It was too dark. Only darkness surrounded her as she walked slowly only to realize that she wasn't going anywhere. Then she heard it again. Her mother calling her name. Her real name._

_"Eleanor...where are you?"_

_"Mother?"_

_Charlotte kept walking, but at a much quicker speed than before. As she continued down the dark path, there was a light, faint, but visible along with a woman standing there. Charlotte couldn't tell who it was because her back was turned towards her. She can, however, see that this woman was looking around for something or someone._

_"Mother?"_

_The woman seemed to have heard her and she quickly turned to Charlotte, then ran up to her and hugged her with tears running down her face. "Oh, my little angel. You're safe! He didn't get you, did he?"_

_Charlotte shook her head no. She was confused on the situation. She was scared to even move. What could have she have meant by 'he'? And more importantly, where could she be? "Where...am I?"_

_The woman, her mother, didn't answer, but let go of her daughter with a small smile. "Eleanor...that man... promise me that you will protect him."_

_"Wha-"_

_"You got to wake up now, Eleanor. Wake up, daughter..."_

_After that, there was light shining through this eerie darkness that surrounded them. Charlotte looked around for a second, then back at her mother and saw that she was a little transparent. Was it due to the light? "Mother, wait!"_

_"Wake up, Charlotte..."_

Charlotte jolted awake from her dream and nervously looked around her dark room. Was that her mother in that dream? And what did she mean by 'protect him'? Was she referring to the man in the room next to her? It was all too much for her. She stood up from the bed and trudged out of her room after grabbing a candle from the dresser beside her but stopped when she realizes that something was off with the next room. Curiously and quietly, she crept into the room, only to see a shadow walking towards the man. She tried to keep herself hidden from the shadow as it crept closer to the bed. It then swung something down at him, but the man quickly parried it with a dagger and kicked the creature away from him. Charlotte quickly ran to the other side of the room as he turned on his lamp, illuminating light into the room. She couldn't believe her eyes when the person stood up from the ground.

"Etienne?"

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	2. Chapter 2: Expression

**Chapter 2: Expression**

"Etienne?"

He didn't say anything; only stared at the man who was also shocked to see him. Did he run into him on the way here?

"Listen," the man started. "Whatever it was that I did, I apologize. It was the power of-"

"I don't care..." Etienne snapped, which instantly cut him off. How rude. "You killed her...you killed my mother...why? What did she do to deserve that?!"

_'Etienne lost his mother as well?'_ Charlotte thought, closely watching him to see what would happen next.

The man started again. "Soul Edge...it needed souls..my body gave out"

Soul Edge? What is that? It sounds like it would be a soul that possesses people or something. She wasn't sure.

Etienne sighed and stood up. "You leave this village and don't come back. You're a threat to us all."

"I'll leave tomorrow if it makes you happy."

"Fine..."

And with that, he left the room. Charlotte couldn't move, even if she wanted to high-tail out of there. _'What should I do'_, she thought as she began to rise from her hiding spot, hoping he doesn't notice her. But, what if he did already? She glanced over at him and their eyes met.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to walk in!" She exclaimed. "I-I thought you were in trouble...!"

He let out a sigh, causing her to stop. "How much did you hear?"

She nervously pushed back some of her hair. "Um...a lot..."

He then looked away. Was he mad? Did she say something wrong? "I'm sorry...I'll leave..." she said.

"Siegfried..."

"Huh?"

"My name is Siegfried." he said.

"Oh...I'm Charlotte..."

Just then, there was shouting heard from downstairs. Her grandmother's shouting. Did she hear about this so-called "Nightmare" being here? Charlotte looked back at him as he was putting on his armor. Just as he was finishing, a scream was heard.

"Grandma!" Charlotte shouted, running out the room down the stairs to the first floor. She knew that the man was close behind. There laid her grandmother on the ground, unconscious. Charlotte ran to her and knelled down beside her. "Grandma...wake up... please..."

She heard Siegfried jump from the second floor to the first and stood by her side in defense.

"It's Nightmare!" one of them shouted.

"Crap! I didn't think he would be here!" said another.

"Drop everything and leave, or prepare to defend yourself."

Charlotte was so confused, but tried to keep calm.

One of the men chuckled a little. "So sorry, but we must go. Besides, you have other things to worry about."

In their hands were bottles of alcohol and wine. They threw it on the ground then dropped torches upon the liquid. Charlotte quickly stood up and, with her magic, created a barrier around the three of them before the flames can touch them. The two intruders left out the inn.

"We got to get out of here and fast!" Charlotte yelled.

Siegfried quickly picked up her unconscious grandmother as Charlotte let the barrier down, cleared a walkway to the door and they quickly ran outside. As they ran out the inn, Charlotte started coughing really badly all the way outside. Siegfried sat her grandmother on the ground as she tried to catch her breath from the smoke. She looked up and saw a group of villagers standing there with pitchforks and torches. Great. Just what she needed. More drama.

"You did this, didn't you, Nightmare?" one of the villagers shouted.

"You've been mistaken," he said. "I didn't do this."

"You were planning to finish off the inn keeper and her granddaughter! We know this!"

Charlotte couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were accusing this poor man after he just saved their lives. She held out her hands to the villagers weakly, asking them to stop and listen to her. "Please...stop...he saved our lives..." she let out a cough. "There are people still inside...let him save them too..."

"No!" The villager shouted. "He will leave this village and never return! Leave now, Nightmare!"

Charlotte looked at him with a look of worry. She wanted him to stay. She didn't want to be alone with them. He just looked away from her. "I'm sorry..." he said, then, with his head hung low, quickly walked away from her. As he walked farther from the village, from her, Charlotte, still weak from the smoke, fell to the ground coughing. She was broken. Scared. Alone. She saw a shadow loom over her as her vision started to go blurry. She looked towards the man and saw him looking back at her. She reached out her hand to him, in hopes that he would turn around and run to her, but he didn't.

"Please... don't leave me here..." she whispered, then fell unconscious.

Charlotte woke up the next day, scared for her life. She silently glanced around the room. She wasn't home. Where was she? Worry and fear soon overtook her and she quickly sat up from the bed that she laid in. She looked down at herself and realized that she was still in the same clothes from yesterday and had bandages on her arms and around her head. She took off the blanket and noticed that there was some going up her legs.

"Oh, you're awake."

Charlotte looked towards the door and saw a woman standing there, holding a tray in her hands. She looked like a kind person, but she couldn't take any chances. She didn't trust anyone in that village. The woman started walking up to her and placed the tray on the table beside her.

"How are you feeling, dear? Are you hurting anywhere?" she asked.

"Um...just my head..."

The woman sat down next to her and started to unwrap the bandages from her head. "Poor thing," she said, placing her hand on Charlotte's forehead. Her hands were cold. "That cruel, wicked man could've killed you if my husband didn't stop him."

Wicked man? Was she talking about that man in the crystal armor? He wasn't wicked. He saved her. Charlotte couldn't look at the woman anymore. "Where is he now?" she asked.

"Nightmare? He's gone now, dear. Don't worry." She sighed. "He won't hurt you anymore. Now then, are you hungry?"

At that, her stomach growled loudly before she could even reply. Dang stomach.

The woman smiled and giggled a bit. "I'll take that as a yes. Lucky for you, I made breakfast."

She opened the top of the plate to reveal some eggs, bacon and two pancakes. Charlotte quietly thanked the woman and began to eat, though she couldn't stop thinking about the man. She missed him, even though they didn't really meet much. _'I hope to see him again soon...'_

Then she got an idea.

"Are you sure you're okay, dear? You don't want to stay longer?"

Charlotte brushed her hair out of her face and grabbed her bag that they left at the door. They probably picked it up while putting out the fire from yesterday. She dug around in it to see that everything that she needed was in it, including her favorite bird whistle. But no sort of food, though she made a sandwich earlier. She put the sandwich in her bag and swung the bag over her shoulder.

"I'll be fine," she said, opening the door and breathed in the fresh air.

"Well...if you ever need anything, just come back to visit, okay?"

Charlotte just nodded and stepped out the house. She wasn't going to come back for a very long time. She didn't want to. She didn't need to. And most importantly, she won't be coming back to this village. It wasn't home anymore. She waved at her and left the house. Goodbye.

_*Time-skip*_

Four hours has went by since that morning and Charlotte was starting to get hungry. She didn't eat much breakfast and she regretted it greatly. She sat down at a tree and pulled out her sandwich that she made before she left and began to eat. She soon spotted a bird, a rather huge bird at that. It was white with a bit of pink, her two favorite colors. She ripped off a bit of bread from her sandwich and held out her hand towards the bird. It cautiously hopped towards her, then took the piece of bread from her hand, which made her smile. After a while, she stood up and began to walk off, then turned around to see the bird close behind her. She started taking small steps and the bird followed. She smiled and picked up the bird.

"Fine," she said. "You can come with me."

The bird hopped on her shoulders and snuggled into her neck. "I'll call you 'Giotto'" she said as they walked until she became tired and ended up resting under a tree on a log.

"I'm so tired," Charlotte said, putting her bag down in front of her. A few minutes went by and she began to feel watched. At first, she tried to ignored it, then a dagger was thrown in front of her, causing her to quickly stand from her seat.

"There you are, Nightmare," A voice said.

Nightmare? No, she wasn't Nightmare. Charlotte waited for something to happen, then a bomb was thrown at her feet. She quickly created a barrier around her and her companion, just like before. Then, a young girl, a little older than her, jumped down from a tree as Charlotte put down her barrier.

"Ugh, you're not Nightmare. You're just some kid," she said.

Charlotte was a little taken back, but rolled her eyes.

"You're looking for Nightmare too, kid?" the girl asked.

"No...I'm looking for a friend. He left my village...I want to find him."

The girl scoffed and flipped back her hair as if she was in control of something. She had medium length hair that was tied back into a ponytail and brown eyes. "Nightmare ruined my life," the girl started. "I must defeat him. Then I can go home with his head and live in peace again."

Charlotte shuddered, but smiled a little. "Maybe I can help...I mean, we're both looking for someone, so it's only fair that we help each other."

The girl returned a smile. "Sounds good to me. I'm Alice Ainsburgh."

"I'm Charlotte, Charlotte Novak."

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**Please review, your feedback is most appreciative. More chapters on its way.**


	3. Chapter 3: Resolution

**Chapter 3: Resolution**

"Do you see him yet?"

Charlotte sighed and rolled her eyes. They spent the past few minutes waiting in the same tree for the one called Nightmare and Siegfried. So far, they had no luck. Charlotte knew she should have been scouting for them, but instead, she was leaned back against the trunk of the tree, sort of playing with her new feathered friend (and realized that it can talk) and hoping that she would catch Siegfried sooner than later. Even though she was scared to admit it, she misses him dearly. Her one and only friend, although they never got the chance to actually sit and chat with each other.

"I told you already, Alice, I don't see them."

"You're not looking!" she whispered-shouted, carefully jumping her way towards her. "In this case, we'll never find Nightmare!"

Charlotte just looked away as Giotto snuggled with her. A jolt of nervous energy raced down her back, making her shake a little. Though it's only been a few minutes of waiting and watching hasn't calmed her nerves. She was really tense about seeing Siegfried again, especially after what happened on that day. After that incident, she relived it in her nightmares. She kept remembering the look of anger on the villager's  
faces and the fire that burns down their little home. After a while, she managed to get over it, but she couldn't forget right away like she wanted to happen.

"Wait...I see him," Alice said, shattering her thoughts.

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah, he's down there in front of us. I'm gonna get him." She pulled out her weapons, a dagger, and a bomb. "Stay here."

"I didn't plan on leaving this spot anyway."

Alice then jumped out of the tree and onto the ground to fight Nightmare, but Charlotte stayed in the tree, watching. She didn't have any time to fight; she honestly didn't want to fight. She saw no point in it. She listened as Alice introduced herself to him, which was a stupid idea. Even Charlotte knew that you shouldn't reveal who you are to your enemies.

"You're going down, Nightmare! For I, Alice Ainsburgh will end you!" she shouted at him.

Charlotte only sighed and sat up from the branch to see who she really was speaking to. Nightmare couldn't possibly show up here just to relax. _'She better be telling the truth,'_ she thought and peeked from her hiding spot. To her surprise, it wasn't Nightmare, but the one person she thought she would never see again. "Siegfried...?" she whispered to herself. What was he doing here? Was he also looking for her like she was looking for him? She watched as the two of them talked, though he looked very annoyed by her constant bluffing and whatnot. The bird, who was also watching, let out a chirp, causing her to wince and close it's beak with her fingers.

"Be quiet," she whispered to the bird.

"Sorry," the bird said with a chuckle.

Charlotte then looked back at Siegfried as he stood in front of Alice, baffled by her shouting and getting even more annoyed by the second. He then sat back down on the ground and started eating.

"Hey!" Alice shouted. "Don't ignore me! I'm being serious! I may be a girl, but I can sure kick your butt! I dare you to stand and fight me... unless you are afraid to face your destiny!"

Charlotte couldn't take her shouting anymore. Especially if it's towards someone she cares about. And once again, Siegfried was being called that dreaded Nightmare again, which made her even more angry. Having enough, she climbed down the tree, along with the bird, grabbed hold of her bird whistle, and blew it. The two both glanced at her. "That's not Nightmare, Alice. Leave him be," she said, then glanced at Siegfried.

"What do you mean that's not Nightmare?! That's definitely him!" she shouted at her. "Do you not know how many people he hurt? He killed my father and drove my mother into depression!"

Charlotte was starting to get annoyed, but tried to keep her cool. "And I'm sorry for that, but I can assure you that he's not Nightmare."

Alice was stunned by her words, but continued ranting about killing him and bringing peace back into her village. While she talked, Charlotte couldn't stop looking at Siegfried, who was packing up to leave them. Seems like the smartest thing to do. By the time Alice was finished talking, he has already left without a trace. "Alright, Nightmare! I-" she stopped mid sentence to find that they were the only ones standing. "Where the hell did he go?!"

Charlotte chuckled softly as Alice began to storm off, probably looking for 'Nightmare'. She looked up and saw a raven bird perched on a branch above her, then the bird flew off. She glanced down at her own bird friend, then shrugged it off and started following Alice, though she ignored her shouting the whole time. She was just glad that she found her friend again.

"I can't believe that Nightmare just ran away from me!" Alice mumbled angrily, a dark and gloomy aura seemed to surround her as she walked in front of Charlotte.

All Charlotte could do was watch and chuckle, though she wasn't fully listening to her rant on about Nightmare again. She was daydreaming. She was thinking about him, though it was strange because he's way older than her. But it wasn't like that. It was more of a _'I can't wait to see you again'_ thing. Of course, her daydreaming was cut off.

"Charlotte, stop daydreaming and help me look for him!"

Alice's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and back into reality. She was still walking, not facing her directly. The dark gloomy aura started to fade away after a while, but it was still visible to the young girl.

"What is the point of looking for him," Charlotte asked. "Why don't we just take a break and let this 'Nightmare' creature come to us?"

Alice didn't answer. Charlotte was a little worried. Though she only met her today, she learned that silence means something bad is going to happen. She then stopped at her spot. "There he is," she whispered.

There, sitting on a log was Siegfried, resting. He looked so peaceful. Charlotte sighed and sat herself down on the ground. She wasn't going to fight him; mainly because he saved her from her supposed demise. "You go ahead, I'll sit here."

Alice whipped her head towards her young companion. "What? You're not fighting?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Nope. I don't fight."

The older girl sighed and pulled out a dagger from her pocket. "Suit yourself," she said, then ran off to him.

Charlotte sat there in deep thought, wondering if it was worth stopping her from hurting him, but found it pointless. She watched as she continued to talk to him about killing him; which seemed to annoy him. All he wanted to do is relax. She knew that feeling. Then she saw Alice run at him to attack, but ended up tripping on a twig and falling face-first in the dirt. The young girl let out a soft giggle and stood up from the ground, then dusted her dress off. "Must she really fight him?" she asked herself.

"I've never see someone so determined to kill someone like this before," Giotto mumbled as Charlotte picked him up and placed him on her shoulder. "Should we stop her before she does something reckless?"

Charlotte glanced at Giotto, then back to the battle at hand. It was getting serious, but she tried to hold back her laughter when Siegfried smacked Alice at her bum with his sword. They talked for a moment and Alice pulled out another bomb while screaming, "This one is going to your pretty face!" Charlotte knew she had to do something before they both get hurt.

"Stay there," Charlotte said as Giotto jumped off her shoulder once again. _'I must hurry,'_ she thought as she quickly ran between them and pushed Siegfried away from it, though it blew up before she and Alice had a chance to move. Alice fell to the ground with ripped clothes and bruises, while Charlotte stood there with her arms guarding her face as blood slowly dripped from the fresh cuts. She slowly lowered them, ignoring the pain, to see him looking at her in slight shock.

"Damn..." Alice hissed as she pushed herself up from the ground. "Defeated by my enemy. This is shameful."

Charlotte glanced at her. "You're lucky that I saved you from getting killed by your own attack."

"Now you know that you are nowhere near strong enough to defeat me," Siegfried said to Alice. "Just go home, both of you."

Alice growled. "As soon as I get better, I'll come after you!"

Charlotte sighed and rolled her eyes. Is she trying to get herself killed? Doesn't she know that fighting him is worthless? Her eyes met with his again and she saw him walking towards her. She couldn't move; then again, she didn't want to run from him. He lightly grabbed her hand and placed something in it without saying a word, then slightly smiled at her, in which she smiled back. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," he finally said to both girls.

"Why are you apologizing?!" Alice shouted.

'_Please stop talking,'_ Charlotte thought, clenching her hand tightly into a fist.

"I didn't mean to harm you."

The girls stood in silence as he began to walk away from them out of the forest. Alice began wrapping her hands in bandages, mumbling something to herself as Charlotte looked down at her hand to see something glowing in it. She slightly opened her hand and saw a necklace with a glowing blue gem on it and she smiled.

"What did he give you?" Alice asked while wrapping her other hand.

The young magician quickly closed her hand and turned to her. Giotto was also standing there. She didn't want to tell her that Siegfried gave her this beautifully strange gift. She smiled and sat down in front of her. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

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**This concludes this fic. Please review, your feedback is most appreciative, and be sure to check out our other stories on this site!**


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